Spiritual warfare is real and yet not as mysterious as we often believe. This sermon from today’s passage helps us understand every Christian’s call to fight, understand our enemy the devil, and understand our means and assurance of victory.

Tyler’s Main Points

• We must fight because the war is real.
• We must fight because the war is universal.
• We must fight because the war is constant.
• We must fight because Satan opposes the purposes of God.
• God uses the fight for our good and His glory.
• We must fight with God’s strength by using God’s resources.
• Our fight is against the devil and his demons.
• We fight with an assurance of victory.
  

Key Takeaways

• We must view Christianity as an entrance into spiritual warfare, not an exit from it. Every Christian is drafted into the war—we are all soldiers, not civilians.
  

• Ephesus was at the center of the occult and practice of black magic. Throughout Paul’s letter, he emphasizes the spiritual realm and the superior power, authority, and will of the triune God.
  

• “A soldier who takes his armor of to sleep will be dead by morning.” William Gurnell
  

• Satan relentlessly fights against the purposes of God in our lives—our fullness of joy; growth in holiness; unity in the church, marriage, home and workplace; and the advancement of the Gospel through evangelism and discipleship.

• As Tyler warns, “God’s purposes won’t move forward in your life if you wake up each morning with a peacetime mentality.”
  

• God is continuing to allow evil because He is actively purposing to reconcile and redeem more evil people. In the future, He will eternally and completely judge and eradicate all evil.
  

• God uses the opposition of Satan to produce the very growth of what Satan opposes.
  

• Every victory over the enemy we experience in this life is only achieved through the strength and grace of God.

• As Tyler advises, “Victory is found when we die to trusting in ourselves and put on the full armor of God.”

• The devil is not God’s evil equal. Although the devil is powerful, he is not all-powerful. Although the devil is wise, he is not all-knowing. Although he is present in this world, he is not all-present.

• The devil opposes God’s purposes through his schemes and oftentimes targets where the Gospel is advancing, new converts, the afflicted, those experiencing victory, the idle, and the isolated.

• As Tyler preaches, “The devil’s time is short. The ‘church militant’ will someday become the ‘church triumphant.’”

Discussion Questions/Application

Personal application:

• What lies from the enemy are you prone to believe about God? About His Word? About His people? About yourself?
  

• Are you actively warring against temptation or living in defeat? What hope does Christ’s victories over sin on the cross and over death through His resurrection offer to you today and in the forever to come?
  

Discuss with your community group:

• What areas of your life reflect a peacetime mentality toward the devil and his schemes rather than a vigilant wartime mentality? Where are you passive? Apathetic? Fearful?
  

• Practically, what does putting on the full armor of God look like in your life?
  

• Pray as a group for the Ukrainian and Russian people as well as the Church’s ongoing perseverance and witness.

Passages Referenced for Further Study
Ephesians 6:10-13; 1 Timothy 6:12; Acts 19:18-19; Ephesians 1:19-21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Ephesians 3:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-19; 1 Peter 5:8; Psalm 16:11; 2 Peter 3:9-10; James 1:2-4; 2 Peter 1:3; Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 35; Revelation 12:3-4; Genesis 3; Hebrews 2:14; 2 Timothy 2:26; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 4:14; 2 Samuel 11:1-2; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Hebrews 4:4-6.